Ping-Pong & Promises
by BlueMango
Summary: Miranda has a late night Ping-Pong match with Pollux, who is saddened by the death of his brother. It's seems that it's up to Miranda to cheer him up. First ever Pollranda. Please mention if used, thx.


**Since this is the first fic for Pollranda, I'd appreciate a small mention if you wrote them, thanks. :)**

**Disclaimer: The **_**Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus **_**cast belongs to Rick Riordan**_**, **_**not me. Please enjoy this one-shot!**

-8-

There was a knock on the Demeter cabin's door. It was a strange situation, because who could be knocking at this time of night when everyone was sound asleep? Katie Gardner was dead asleep in her flower pajamas, tucked neatly inside her rose comforter laid out against the window on the bottom bunk.

Miranda Gardiner, her sister, was a light sleeper, though, who awoke at the first knock. She peered out of the side of her bunk to check on her sister—she was sleeping with the flowers. Miranda's long, brown hair flowed over her shoulders, and she tied it back in a messy bun. There was another soft knock on the door, and Miranda took the liberty to free herself of her curiosity.

Softly, she climbed out of her strawberry-coated bed on the top bunk and down the wooden steps of the ladder threaded with flowers. She walked past her desk decorated with flowers and built from wood. Miranda shuffled in the dark to find her hiking boots and went to the door. When she opened it, an unexpected visitor appeared.

"C-Clovis?" Miranda asked with a whisper to the cow-like boy who was sleeping on the ivy-covered porch.

Clovis slowly began to stir, and he never failed to make his audience chuckle. Miranda laughed breathlessly at the sight, and then looked back to her sleeping sister as she closed the door behind her.

The weather was warm on the summer evening a few months after the Titan War; the smell of fall was on the horizon.

"Ah. Hi, Miranda, didn't expect to stumble upon you here…" The cow fell asleep, his head drooping into his neck.

Miranda patted his cheek to wake him up. "Clovis. What are you doing here this late at night?"

"Two tomatoes please…" He pretended to chew, his mouth moving like a dreamy cow's.

"I can get you some, but you have to go back to your cabin," Miranda stated as she reached for some tomatoes from the vines on her cabin. "Here you go." She handed them to Clovis, who opened his eyes just a little.

"Thanks! You made my dream come true." He smiled in a dream-like way and added, "But I'm here because someone needs help back at my cabin. I guess this was the first place that I had stumbled upon when I was going to search for someone."

"You trying to find someone is akin to sleepwalking in circles. I'm surprised you found me," she said softly with a laugh, which made Clovis jump out of his sleep. "Anyways, who needs help?" Miranda wondered why she even bothered to ask when the blonde boy in his cow-jumping-over-the-moon pajamas fell asleep once more. The only thing she could do was take him back to his cabin. Miranda was curious, tired, and wondered how she was going to bring Clovis back to his cabin.

-8-

Miranda hefted the sleeping boy into his bed as soon as she opened the door. It was a hike from her cabin to his, but it was worth walking under the moonlight with the entire world quiet around her.

It was nice and cozy in the cabin. It was a prairie home where a nice fire burned in the hearth, branches of a poplar tree lined the wall, and beds were occupied with many sleepers.

"Clovis?" came a voice that yawned from the blanket on the floor.

Blankets could talk? Miranda never knew that, but until she saw a little girl with blonde pigtails, she knew it was Lacy of the Aphrodite cabin.

"Lacy? What are you doing here?" Miranda asked, the evening just full of surprises. Was this the person whom Clovis wanted her to help?

"I'm sleeping over because Drew was being mean again. And now I'm going back to sleep, so goodnight. Oh, and please don't tell anyone, thanks." She yawned as she covered herself with the fluffy quilt.

Miranda stumbled to Clovis' bed, wondering how and why Lacy was there. She stood Clovis up and once again struggled to wake him up. "Clovis, who is it that needs help?" she asked, beginning to get impatient.

Clovis this time managed to wake up and pointed to a tuft of blonde hair peeking out from the bed near the fire.

"Who is it?" Miranda cocked her head to try to get a better look at who it was, but she couldn't see under the quilt.

"It's Pollux. Ever since his brother died, he's been sleeping here a lot to escape the reality that Castor's gone. All he does is sleep all day and night and doesn't come out unless it's classes or it's time to eat. Miranda, you and he like to grow stuff, so please help," Clovis begged gently, his head drooping as he tried to stay awake.

Miranda could feel the effects of the cabin getting to her, but she fought it as best as she could. "Clovis…this is about death. This is about more than just growing plants."

"I-I know, but please, do something," he pleaded as he fell backwards onto his pillow, and Miranda knew that he wasn't going to wake up until probably dinner tomorrow night.

Miranda took a breath in and breathed out, trying to figure out what to do to help Pollux. Miranda could understand; Katie had been sad that she'd lost her good friend, Castor, and Miranda had had to help her sister in her time of grief. But losing a family member? Miranda had a hard time grasping the idea of losing her sister. Her heart beat with pain as she walked over to Pollux's bed and debated on whether she should let him sleep or wake him up. She sat on the side of his bed, looking at his blonde hair, the effects of the cabin getting to her even worse this time, and she knew she had to get out.

"Pollux, wake up. Let's go to the Big House and have a chat," she said as she pulled him out of his daze.

He responded with a grunt and made a "What's going on?" face, but he went with the flow as she slipped his arm over her shoulders and walked him out to the Big House. She glanced back at the cabin one more time to wonder absentmindedly why Lacy was sleeping over at _Clovis' _place, but she smiled, definitely going to keep quiet about her little secret.

-8-

The two demigods were the only ones in the rec room as they sat at the meeting table in the Big House. Seymour was asleep, so the leopard-head mantle paid no mind to the two as Pollux woke up.

"Miranda, why'd you wake me up at this time of night?" Pollux asked as he ate some grapes.

"Because, Pollux, you can't sleep so much at Clovis' cabin," she told him, truly worried that his pale face was growing more gaunt and emotionless with every passing day.

"Does that mean you want me to go to yours?" He smiled, but it seemed faked when he looked at her. She was cute with her messy brown hair, strawberry pajamas, and hiking boots. She was a cute, interesting disarray.

"No! I mean, it's about Castor." She looked down, knowing she was bringing up a tough subject.

"What about him? He's gone, and I couldn't do anything to save him," Pollux remarked a little sharply. He got up from the table and paced the length of the room.

"I know he is; my sister misses him, too. But please, you have to live for him and your father." She got up and stood behind him as he looked up at Seymour. She took his hands and was glad that he let her do so.

"We should play some Ping-Pong," he said abruptly. Pollux grinned, wiping tears out of his eyes. "Castor and I used to sneak in here at this time of night, you know; the Stoll brothers aren't the only ones who are sneaky." He nudged her, and Miranda grinned as she tossed a paddle to him and started a serve on her side of the table.

The two went back and forth, tossing serves, laughing when they won and grunting when one lost the round. Miranda threw her paddle down at one point as she held the Ping-Pong ball. "Oh, it's on, Pollux." She smirked as she threw the ball in the air and cast some vines to hit it. The competition was getting heated. The daughter of Demeter and son of Dionysus were upping the ante, and the game involved more than just the use of paddles.

"That's so cheating!" Pollux's face was serious when he threw his paddle on the table and extended grape vines from his side to hit back. He thought Miranda grew cuter, like a tiny strawberry in the fields. If Castor were here, Pollux knew that he would tell him to make moves on Miranda. He smirked at the thought of his brother, whom he was going to keep in his memory and his heart.

Seymour woke up and looked at them, entranced and entertained by the two's game.

Clovis had been right when he'd said that Miranda and Pollux liked to grow stuff—at least, in a competition of Ping-Pong. And Miranda was glad that Clovis accidently had stumbled into her cabin—if not, the evening might never have happened.

-8-

The two heaved themselves onto nearby chairs around the table and took huge breaths.

"Gave me a work out, Gardiner," Pollux rasped with a wheeze. He laid his head and arms on the table, his breathing growing more rhythmic as he peeked at Miranda.

"It's what I do, Pollux. You should come hiking with me sometime—_then_ you'll get a work out." She laughed, and she stretched her head and hands on the table.

"I'll take you up on that offer, Gardiner," he replied. He reached for her hand slowly, and she smiled as she started to close her eyes. "Thanks for tonight, though. We should do it more often—in memory of Castor, that is. Your sister should come, too. Since she was good friends with him," he added as he rested his head on her hands, falling asleep faster than he had expected.

Miranda had a hard time keeping her eyes open, but she managed a "yes," hoping that he had heard it when he fell into the dream world.

The two demigods conked out after feeling the side effects of leaving Clovis' cabin. The door that led into the rec room opened, however, and Chiron peered in, as he wondered what all the noise was. When he saw the two demigods, he smiled.

Pollux was in need of a friend, someone to save him from his time of grief. Chiron looked at how Pollux had grabbed Miranda's hand and had a feeling that Pollux wouldn't want to let go of her for forever.

Pollux, also, looked more well-rested than he had in months, and perhaps he now knew who his next partner in was the arena was going to be—and she seemed to be pretty good competition.

Chiron silently turned off the lights and returned to his room, pretending that he never saw this "incident."

That night, Pollux dreamed of strawberries and Miranda dreamed of how handsome Pollux was in his maroon pajamas, the world growing with something new and fresh like vineyards and gardens.

-8-

**Pollux and Miranda make total sense. So, the daughter of Demeter and son of Dionysus together? I think so. He has a brother and she has a sister, and they can understand what it's like to have a sibling, which is all the more reason these two should be with each other. She is saving him from his pain, and I think she did.**

**Tell me what you think by slipping in a review. ;)**

**Thanks to mew-tsubaki for beta'ing.**


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